


New Squad, New Misunderstandings

by MandoKain



Series: Aliit [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Found Family, Gen, Togruta (Star Wars), fives just wants to be loved, they don't mean to be scary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 11:44:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20191732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MandoKain/pseuds/MandoKain
Summary: Finding his feet takes a little more work than Fives is used to.





	New Squad, New Misunderstandings

It wasn’t... what he’d expected, when he’d told Rex, quietly and in the privacy of the Captain’s room, what he wanted. Of course he’d heard the way Cain spoke with the others, how there was no real hierarchy, how it was all just names, no titles. He’d noticed how they’d all been around each other, and he’d expected the camaraderie of clones.

He hadn’t expected the family, the way Blink said “aliit Toqema” like he’d grown up in it, the way Recoil would tackle hug anyone, Careen’s bright grins and Bard’s eagerness to share, the back-and-forth banter between Xhona, Cain, and the clones. Even with Skywalker and Tano, Fives had never had a non-clone close friend. They were still officers, no matter how friendly they were. This group all treated each other like vode, like aliit, one big family. Blink, as the oldest, might be considered head of the family if you squinted, but really, everyone played an equal part.

Fives was, admittedly, unsure at first. He’d been with the 501st since Rishi. He wasn’t sure how well he would fit into Panther Squad, the family built around it. He got along well with Bard and Recoil (yet another ARC and gunner, he was sensing a pattern), and he really liked Careen. Blink was ori’vod to them all, and he and Fives talked a lot and swapped stories of missions. Xhona made him laugh, which he appreciated because there weren’t a lot of laughs before, not after Umbara. Cain was, if not the head of the family, certainly the heart of it, and they made sure he settled in over the first few days. Fives was still unsure, a bit, despite his confident exterior, but he was getting there. He’d clicked, as Blink called it, with Cain, and that meant he had a place. But he was still working on clicking with the others.

He clicked with Careen over the story of piloting the weird alien ship on Umbara. They talked about it over caf (Careen always had caf) while on their way to a new destination, and Careen was suitably impressed. Blink, it was easy: mutual respect of ability, and being a pair of smart asses, meant the two of them got along beautifully. Fives sparred with Recoil a couple of times, and when he managed to slam the heavy gunner into the ground, he saw the acceptance in Recoil’s winded smile. Despite both being ARCs, Fives and Bard took a bit to get used to each other—ARCs from different companies tended to have rivalries—but when Fives joined in on a song the other clone was playing, Bard complimented his singing voice, and they fit neatly from there.

Xhona... was an interesting one. As Cain’s partner, she was clued in to the little Twi’lek in ways no one else was. She’d approved of Fives, seeing the way he’d clicked with Cain, but she watched him. Fives had experience with being watched by a Togruta, of course, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sometimes feel like there was a second panther on the ship, and she was stalking him. (Allesh, of course, simply loved having more friends, and took to Fives immediately.) Xhona seemed almost to keep track of him. Finally, he went to ask about it.

“Xhona, can we talk?” She was sitting in the chair beside Careen, trying one of Bard’s various teas. She looked up before he entered the room, nodding in response to the question.

“Sure. Watch this for me, Car, will you?”

“Sure. Have a nice chat.” The pilot shot a glance at Fives, curious but not suspicious, as Xhona followed him out of the room. Fives ducked into the nearest empty room, which happened to be the cargo hold.

“Did I do something?” His expression wasn’t quite accusatory, more concern and confusion than anything else.

Xhona sat on one of the plasteel containers and folded one knee over the other. “Not that I can think of, why?”

“You keep watching me. I’ve noticed the way your eyes track me in a room. Why?” Her expression when doing so was never angry or suspicious, or malevolent in any way, but it was disconcerting to always feel eyes on the back of your neck.

Xhona frowned slightly, before her brow cleared. “Ahh. I... think I might be doing what Careen calls my ‘predator look’ without realising it,” she admitted quietly.

“That’s... what it seems like, yes. Did I do something to warrant it? Because if I can fix it I would like to.”

“It’s not really fixable,” she shrugged. “I think it’s coming off as aggressive when I don’t mean it to be, but I’m keeping track of you to make sure you’re... well, comfortable. Settling in properly. Everyone else here was solo, either a rescue or a deserter. You’ve just come from a company that you’ve been with a long time, and I know you probably miss them, a lot. This is new, and different, so I want to make sure you’re feeling okay. I know Cain would be upset if you regretted it because they’d feel it was their fault.”

Fives frowned as he put all this together. “It’s because you’re worried about me?”

“Basically, yes. I think you’ll do really well here, and everyone really likes you, myself included, but I want to make sure you want to be here and feel you fit in properly. I forgot that some people pick up on it and get uncomfortable. Sorry, Fives.” Her cheeks went a bit darker purple, and the ARC dropped onto the container next to her.

“Well now I know why, I don’t feel so much like I’m in trouble,” he told her, smiling. “Yeah, I’m okay. I do miss my brothers, especially Rex, but I think I’m better off here. I was... becoming trouble, I think was the phrase,” Fives said dryly. “I almost got court-martialed after Umbara for mutiny. Rex had to do a lot of talking to fix that one.”

“No wonder you and Bard get along so well,” Xhona said dryly. He snorted.

“Yeah, true enough. We both were a bit disobedient. I think I’m lucky to have been picked up by you all when I was. Skywalker’s getting more reckless, not less, and despite being my general I was getting snappish. Rex was keeping me in check, but...” he trailed off with a shrug. “I was probably a couple smart comments and backtalking from being sent back to Kamino.” The Zyggeria plan had been infuriating, and only a swift kick under the table from Rex and his hand squeezed so tight the bones crunched had kept Fives quiet.

Xhona nodded and reached over, squeezing his shoulder briefly. “Yeah, you fit right in here. We’re all a bunch of smart mouths. You got something to say, you say it, and we’ll all respond. You don’t have to worry about a court martial, either, when you’re not in the military,” she added with a smile.

“Do you think... would I be able to call Rex? Just to let him know I’m okay?”

“I think so. We’ll have to do it on a secure line, but it should be fine. Nothing Blink and I can’t fix up.”

“Thanks. That- yeah, that would be good.”

“You doin’ all right, Fives?”

“Yeah. I think so, yeah.” He nodded, and she did too. He felt himself settle, properly, when she smiled at him.

“Good. Come on, let’s go get that line set up for you. I’m sure Rex will be glad to hear from you.”

“Thanks, Xhona.”

“No problem.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fives deserves all the love! Don’t worry, he still gets to warn Rex about the chips, but this time he does it with backup and without the whole Coruscant Guard after him, so Fox doesn’t shoot him, Rebels can still happen, and everything is hunky-dory.


End file.
